Sealed fate || Percy Jackson

II • IV

"Tomorrow is another day
And you won't have to hide away
You'll be a man, boy!
But for now it's time to run, it's time to run!"

•

You'd thought that before a very deathly quest, you'd have a good sleep. Well, not in Nara's case.

She couldn't sleep thinking about Annabeth's prophecy, everything that could go wrong and how and how to avoid it. So when Lee came to wake her up and wish her good luck, she almost tries to asphyxiate him with her pillow.

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist.

On her way Nara made a mental review of what she packed in her knapsack-thermos with nectar? Yes; Baggie of ambrosia? Yes; Clothes? Yes; Flashlights? Yes; And, of course, her notebook? Yes. She also had her bow and arrows in her back.

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue.
Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, they could be heading underground.

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt. Since we had no idea what we would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs.

Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish us well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided we needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack and Nara gave her a reasuring smile.

"Ready?" She asked squatting to get down and be at the same level as the blonde.

"I hope so..." Annabeth said.

"We'll be fine, don't you worry." She tried to calm the blonde.

She was going to respond when Tyson and Percy came over, she frowned. "Percy, you look terrible."

"He killed the water fountain last night," Tyson confided.

"What?" Nara asked.

Before Percy could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

He tried to sound upbeat, but Nara could tell he was anxious.

"Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?" Percy asked.

"Of course, my boy."

"Be right back, guys." He said and nodded toward the woods. Chiron asked an eyebrow, but he followed him out of earshot.

They waited a little until Annabeth started getting annoyed, so, for their own good, Nara decided to trudge over the boy and the centaur, also curious why they were taking so long.

"Percy, you ready?"

He nodded and she observes how his hand slipped into his pocket, where Nara guessed that he kept something but she didn't ask anything. She looked over and saw Quintus watching him carefully.

He raised his hand in farewell.

"Take care," Chiron told them. "And good hunting."

"You too," They said.